Quote:
Originally Posted by Mahler9th
Very, very few Porsche track cars I have seen during the past 30 years have used bladed sway bars. DIY cars, pro race cars, factory cars, cars on budgets, cars without budgets, a pretty broad range.
As some may recall, years ago Automotion (the original) offered a bladed set up as an alternative to Weltmeisters, factory bars and the scant few other commercial products available (if any). I am pretty sure these parts were designed and built by E.R.P. (no not Elephant company). The offering did not last long as Automotion was sold not too long after that. I don't think the parts sold well.
If I recall correctly, Craig Watkins designed and launched the SRP bars, and Ira (et al?), designed and launched the Tarrett bars. Both great products that have seemed to meet the market needs for the vast majority of Porsche racing applications where these products are available.
Now for the latest in water-cooled racing set ups... different story. But I don't think Elephant has any meaningful experience with high level amateur or pro racing water-cooled racing. If I were campaigning a later water-cooled car, I would try to access a consultant or consultants with pro experience.
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I'll let Max respond to your questions, but there's plentiful information in reference books (Puhn,
How To Make Your Car Handle and others) and specific setups for the gamut of Porsches in this and other Porsche forums.
One doesn't necessarily have to plot the mathematical torsional stiffness between full soft and full hard on a blade-type sway bar (as long as full hard is too hard). Between the two extremes, the control system usually has fixed detents for however many mid-settings they want for reference rather than an infinite hard-to-soft cable adjuster like a vintage bike derailleur.
During testing, perform a best-guess/past history/follow the crowd estimate of the front/rear roll rates, then adjust according to lap times and desired handling. Mid-sway bar settings are for fine-tuning. Unless your last name is Alonso, Hamilton, etc., many teams put the controls out of reach to make the driver's job less complicated. Testing and practice should arrive at the best setting, just like adjusting ride height, camber, toe, etc.
How many times do car enthusiasts adjust the sway bar settings on their street-based cars? Typically once - when installing. Most don't even know the difference between under and oversteer. Others might even consider this product bling or "nice-to-have" unless there's a purpose to have that capability. I've seen blade-type sway bars on a Honda Element. There you go.
As for ER, I don't think there are many layers between the person who answers the phone and the person who provides engineering and tech. support for the products they sell. Try that with other parts suppliers. If a team is at some threshold competition level, they'll most likely consult with "the Man" if at all possible. I doubt many F1 teams deal with Tire Rack instead of directly with Pirelli. And another reason my friends don't ask me.
Sherwood